Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters had his tour dates in Poland cancelled amid outrage over his stance on Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine, in accordance with Polish media and statements from the artist.
An official with the Tauron Area in Krakow, the place Waters was scheduled to carry out two concert events in April 2023, stated the concert events had been cancelled by Waters via his supervisor, “with out giving any motive,” learn a press release shared broadly by Polish media — however Waters claims his staff didn’t cancel any exhibits.
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The controversy started when Waters wrote an open letter to Ukrainian first woman Olena Zelenska early this month during which he referred to as for peace between Ukraine and Russia, and blamed “excessive nationalists” in Ukraine for having “set your nation on the trail to this disastrous struggle.”
He additionally criticized the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, blaming Washington specifically.
Waters’ letter made no point out of Russia’s accountability within the struggle, main Zelenska to answer on Twitter: “Roger Waters, you’d higher ask (Russia’s) President for peace. Not Ukraine.”
Waters’ remarks in regards to the struggle angered metropolis councillors in Krakow, Poland, the place help for the Ukrainian trigger is robust. They’re anticipated to vote subsequent week on a proposal to call Waters as a persona non grata, expressing “indignation” over the musician’s stance on the struggle in Ukraine.
“Bearing in mind Russia’s legal assault on Ukraine in addition to the rising variety of struggle crimes dedicated by Russian troopers which are coming to mild, (the councillors) specific outrage on the theses and statements made by Mr Roger Waters in reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the decision states, as reported by the BBC.
In a Fb put up titled “Hey! Lukasz Wantuch! ‘Depart Them Children Alone!,’” Waters stated media stories that he had cancelled concert events in Poland had been unfaithful and criticized a Krakow metropolis councillor over the vote to declare him a persona non grata within the metropolis.
“Lukasz Wantuch has threatened to carry a gathering asking the council to declare me ‘persona non grata’ due to my public efforts to encourage all concerned within the disastrous struggle in Ukraine, particularly the governments of the USA and Russia, to work in direction of a negotiated peace,” Waters wrote in a put up on Fb.
“Lukasz Wantuch appears to know nothing of my historical past of working, all my life, at some private price, within the service of human rights,” Waters added. “If Mr Lukasz Wantuch achieves his goal, and my forthcoming concert events in Krakow are cancelled, it will likely be a tragic loss for me, as a result of I’ve been wanting ahead to sharing my message of affection with the folks of Poland.”
Waters has since revealed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he advocated for a “ceasefire and a diplomatic settlement that addresses the safety wants of each Ukraine and the Russian Federation.” He criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “heinous struggle of aggression, provoked or not.”
Waters stated that to barter a peace, Russia would want to comply with an “completely binding settlement to not invade anybody ever once more.”
“I do know, I do know, the USA and NATO invade different sovereign nations on the drop of a hat, or for just a few barrels of oil, however that doesn’t imply it is best to,” the artist wrote.
— With recordsdata from The Related Press
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